for you. i'm jim cramer. i see you tomorrow. this morning on "early today," the race tightens. big bird to a whole new level. sandusky speaks. hours before being sentenced on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, the 68-year-old proclaims his innocence. and curious discovery. the mars rover finds a bright object on the surface, but what exactly is it? captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. from "sesame street" to main street, last week's debate catapulted big bird to the front of the presidential campaign. mitt romney says he'll cut

funding to reduce the deficit. now the obama camp has released a new tongue-in-cheek ad casting an unlikely star as a criminal master mine. will it be effective? take a look for yourself and decide. >> i'm barack obama and i approve this message. >> bernie madoff, dennis keselowski, criminals, gluttons of greed and the evil genius who towered over them. one man has the guts to speak his name. >> big bird. >> big bird. >> it's me, big bird. >> big, yellow, a menace to our economy. mitt romney knows it's not wall street you have to worry about, it's sesame street. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. >> mitt romney taking on our enemies no matter where they nest. >> this comes as the 2012 presidential election is just four weeks away, and now new polls show the race between president obama and republican rival mitt romney is closer than ever. nbc's tracie potts has more from

washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. they're raising a lot of money, too. which is why we'll see more of those ads. romney today in iowa and ohio. speaking of campaign slogans, turns out he may end up repeating a new one he coined yesterday. we first heard it on monday. he argued president obama's policies made the world more dangerous. >> the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office. >> reporter: romney promised to create one person to deal with the middle east, arm syria's rebels, sanction iran if needed, expand the navy and push free trade. democrats weren't impressed. >> i'm a professor. if one of my students turned it in, they would get a c because he gave absolutely no specifics. >> reporter: pew has it up four points, gallup says the positive

jobs report gave president obama a five-point boost. courting hispanics there, but he also said that mitt romney's debate was more style over substance, that debate really fueling those polls and we'll see if it's affected by the vice presidential debate this week. vice president biden, paul ryan debate on thursday. >> he's going to bring the hammer down on sesame street. >> the president has no new ideas. >> both vice presidential candidates are practicing for thursday's debate. in fact, paul ryan is in florida practicing after four days in virginia. vice president biden still in delaware where he said to be not only looking at tapes of ryan's speeches, but taking a very close look at his budget as well. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. a nashville hospital is reporting yet another death from the meningitis outbreak according to associated press. if confirmed, it would be the fifth deadliest case in

tennessee. the ninth nationally. at least 105 people in nine states from minnesota to florida have been infected. the cdc now believes 13,000 people in 23 states may have received steroid injections tied to the outbreak. while many are believed not to be at risk, those who got the shot between late june and september are being urged to get checked. for the very first time we are hearing from jerry sandusky ahead of his sentencing on the 45 counts of child sexual assault. the former penn state assistant football coach was convicted in june of molesting ten boys over 15 years. prosecutors say about half a dozen of his victims will take the witness stand and sandusky himself is expected to testify at the hearing to defiantly say he is innocent. he gave a preview of what he might say at an audio statement he recorded from prison. >> i am responding to the worst loss of my life. first i looked at myself.

over and over i asked why. why didn't we have a fair opportunity to prepare for trial? why have so many people suffered as a result of false allegations? what's the purpose? maybe it will help others, some vulnerable children who could be abused might not be as a result of all of the publicity. >> the 68-year-old is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we're going to begin in texas with dog snatching heist that cost two pet stores thousands of dollars. in all thieves swiped nine puppies worth $3,500 and $4,000 apiece. police are asking the public for assistance on the case. crews in iowa have a huge mess to clean up. 21 empty freight cars tumbled off the tracks when a train derailed in a rural area. officials are still investigating what caused the derailment. no injuries were reported. coyotes are making the mean

streets of chicago home sweet home. video of the wild animal was recently captured in one of the windy city's urban areas. can you imagine seeing that? officials are aware of the increase in sightings and plan to keep a close eye on that situation. and finally, a little bit of hollywood history is going on the auction block. the dress made famous by judy garland in "the wizard of oz" is expected to fetch over $1 million dollars once bidding begins next month in california. the winning bidder will own the only gingham dress and white blouse used in the film. now for a look at your weather, let's check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> things will change in the west. people will have to find their umbrellas. it looks like officially as we head towards the end of this week, it will return. for now we'll hold on to the sunshine and warmth. yesterday was another beautiful day all through the west.

temperatures above average in almost all cases. 77 in medford. another day above 70 in the northwest. what a start to october. one of the warmest starts we've ever seen. it has cooled off with clear skies in many cases. the desert southwest, summertime morning lows, temperatures there in the 70s. we have the pesky low drifting closer to the coast. there will be showers with it over the next couple days. today the coast of san jose, san francisco and then it will drop south wards towards los angeles during the day tomorrow. not a lot of wet weather. right now it's still offshore. you can see where it is, ever so slowly those showers will try to move towards san francisco. as far as the forecast goes for today, another nice day in the northwest, slightly cooler for you and with some clouds, a little cooler in the desert southwest. still no wet weather that's widespread. that'srt

watching the higher elevations. we're getting to that time of year. an update on the forecast coming up later. a mass murder known as the squirrel busted. north korea's threat to main land usa and why your refrigerate ser bigger than ever before. shocking news from illusionist david blaine after his latest endurance stunt. you're watching "early today."

i'm lynn berry, and right now an unusual warning from north korea which says its missiles are capable of reaching the u.s. mainland, an apparent response to south korea's announcement of a deal with the u.s. to strengthen its own missile program. well, he is known as the squirrel, and after his arrest he smiled and gave a thumbs up, but mexican authorities say salvador escobedo is a key lieutenant in the zetas drug

cartel behind the killing of american david hartley who was jet skiing on a border lake two years ago. a zetas founder may have been killed sunday in what would be a major victory for president felipe calderon. well, for the first time, less than half of all americans do not consider themselves protestant. now just 48%. what are the reasons? well, a pew research study finds many are opting out of religion altogether. nearly one in five say they are nothing in particular, agnostic or atheist. that's an 8% jump since 1990. the mars curiosity rover has been digging up soil samples, but now that work is on hold because nasa wants to find out if a bright object spotted on the ground is part of the vehicle or something more. and this is what happens when a large group of mostly intoxicated people take on a bull in colombia. amateur matadors got into the ring and tried to show the bull who was boss.

not too successfully. 19 were hurt. here is an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow dropped 26 points yesterday. the s&p down five. the nasdaq lost 23. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei assembled 93 points. in hong kong the hang seng gained 112. stocks have been on a strong run, but right now earnings and europe's on going debt drama are threatening markets' momentum. just this morning, chancellor angela merkel arrived in greece to show solidarity. many greeks blame germany to deep cuts attached to its international bailout. thousands of snipers and officers were scrambled ahead of her arrival. so far protests have been calm. after the bell, alcoa kicks off what is expected to be a grim earnings season. apple was a drag on the dow and

s&p despite denials of a strike at one of its manufacturing plants. house officials are warninging u.s. companies to avoid dealing with two of china's telecom equipment makers. american express and walmart are rolling out a reloadable prepaid card. currently 5% of walmart transactions are done in cash. gm plans to hire up to 10,000 computer pros as it takes software and tech design in-house. piling more into your fridge these days? that's because american's waistlines are growing along with refrigerators. new data shows they've expanded more than three cubic feet in the last 30 years. if you're trying to lose a few, the american beverage association is rolling out new soda machines and they're going to have calorie counts on the buttons. good idea.

>> it's that time of year nor the neiman marcus christmas book. a $250,000 hand crafted mahogany speed boat. put that on the list for santa. things get even in the major league and tiger says i'm sorry. plus five miles of pride. check out that unusual flag display. that's an understatement. your sports headlines are straight ahead. enjoy the dry weather while it lasts. stormy weather for the upcoming weekend. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. ? sports the texans remain undefeated after downing the jets on monday night football. houston's air i don't know foster rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown leading the texans to a 23-17 victory. down 20-7 in the third, the jets' joe mcknight ran back a kickoff return for a touchdown. new york had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but sanchez was picked off with only two minutes to play. former detroit lie on pro bowl tackler, alex karras well known for his role as a father in "webster" is suffering from

kidney failure. he's been suffering from dementia is recent years and is part of the mass concussion lawsuit involving players against the nfl. to baseball now, the cardinals have barbed the nationals 12-4, knotting their series at one. st. louis's carlos beltran hit the last two of his team's four homers. the orioles even it up with if yanks after a two-run single by dave davis in the third. baltimore tacked on a final run with a mark reynolds single there. they held on to one it 3-2. to golf now where tiger woods reportedly apologized to several of his ryder cup rookie teammates for a perper form ans at medina. woods went 0-3 in team play with steve stricter. finally, look at this. more than 20,000 supporters of the argentine soccer club

carried an almost five-mile-long flag through the streets through the club stadium and right into the guinness book of world records. coming up, katie perry's patriotic nanny and lady gaga doesn't miss a beat. your entertainment headlines are still ahead. plus an building blitz from indiana. you're watching early today.

a great tuesday morning to

you. thanks for joining us again on "early today." dry weather for a couple more days in the northwest. then as the weekend approaches, it could get a little rainy and cloudy. today, gorgeous sunshine in so many spots from medford to portland all the way through the northwest. an upper level low could bring a few showers to coastal areas of central california. tomorrow we're still dry throughout all of the region. it looks like friday, friday night in the northwest is when the first raindrops should arrive. if you're watching us on kiem news channel 3, meet a new set of red panda brothers and watch as they explore, climb and even made paw print portraits at red panda moniu. at the sequoia park zoo. all right. thank you so much. now here is an early look at your entertainment headlines. well, one of hollywood's most enduring couples are calling it quits. kind of surprised about this. danny devito and rhea perlman have separated after 30 years of

marriage according to a rep. the two met in 1970. they have three children all in their 20s. no word on what caused the split. well, katy perry went all out for her performance at president obama's l.a. fundraiser sunday night complete with a special manicure that featured photos of the president and a democrat donkey. first justin bieber, now lady gaga. during a concert in spain this past weekend the singer got sick not once but four times on stage and she kept on singing and dancing. reports say gaga has been battling the flu. >> pregnancy rumors not true. >> really? >> they're deing it. finally, last night david blaine ended what he now says is his final endurance stunt. the illusionist went 72 hours without any food wearing a chainmail suit and surrounded by low current million volt coils. a visibly weak blaine was

immediately wheeled into an ambulance to be examined by medical doctors and he couldn't believe he got it accomplished. this is from louisville, kentucky, where in nearby henry ville, indiana, seven months after a deadly tornado 1200 volunteers are helping to build ten homes for victims who say the outpouring is overwhelming. with every step of it i say, this is too good to be true. this isn't really happening and then they put the sign up front so of course i took a picture of it and, yeah, it's real. >> the homes are expected to be done in december, a perfect holiday gift for those families. that's for sure. i'm lynn berry. this is your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

in england one get together was certainly to die for. more than 1,000 people joined to try and break a u.s. record for the largest gathering of zombies. participants had special zombie guidelines including painted white face, dark eyes and red somewhere on the face. kind of scary looking. they fell a few thousand short of breaking the record, but they still enjoyed a night of rides and music. some good times there. panda keepers in china are testing out a strange new technique. in an effort to wean the pandas off of human interaction, the keepers are donning panda costumes complete with fluffy little tails. they're adorable. the keeper's main goal was to lure a watchful mother away from her son ahead of his release into the wild. the captive breeding program is helping bring pandas back from near extinction. >> that panda's got a backpack. >> that's not in character. finally, a fish market owner in canada may want to consider buying a lotto ticket.

that's because he received the jackpot of lobster shipments. look at that. the owner opened the delivery to find blue, emerald green, and orange crustaceans. just how rare is this shipment? well, blue lobsters are 1 in 2 million while orange lobsters are an astounding 1 in 10 million. you know what's even more rare? >> what's more rare? >> last time i was in cape cod lobster ice cream with real lobster. >> chunks in it? you had it and tried it? >> i did not. i took a picture and said that's where i draw the line. >> see, that's the difference between you and i. >> i know, you would have tried it. you're so much more daring. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. >> a muslim cleric will appear in federal court in new york city. he was extradited from britain along with four other accused terrorists. the man faces charges he conspired to establish a jihad training camp in oregon. it is all systems go for fearless felix baumgartner and his record 23 mile sky dive attempt.

as this animation shows, the 43-year-old austrian will try to become the first sky diver to break the sound barrier when he jumps out of a specially designed helium capsule over new mexico this morning. and happy birthday to rocker jackson browne. he turns 64 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the nfl replacement referee who made that controversial touchdown call in the packers/seahawks game speaks out about the blame, backlash, and bullying. and irish rock band the script will perform live in studio. well now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com